Belated Saints of the day- Apr 5th- April 8th

 Apr 5- Bd Cresentia Hoss , Virgin    (A.D. 1744)

Born in 1682 to poor parents. She entered the convent of the 3rd Order Regular of St. Francis, at age 21. She was treated poorly, in the convent, at first, but eventually was recognized as a living saint. She later became the prioress of the convent in which she lived. Later on in her life, people would seek her out, at the convent, for advice and prayers. she died in 1744. even today, pilgrims still visit her tomb. She was beatified in 1900, by Pope Leo XIII.



 Apr 6- Bd Catherine of Pallanza, Virgin    (A.D. 1478)

Born in 1437 in Pallanza, Italy. Her entire family died of the plague when she was very young. She was rescued by a local lord and was placed in the care of and later adopted and educated by a noble woman in Milan. After the death of the woman who raised her, she became a hermitess in the mountains above Varese. She lived this austere life for 15 years. She was joined by other women who wished to imitate her, and she later started a community which followed the Augustinian rule. She founded a convent called Santa Maria di Monti. She died after 4 years of being prioress of the community, she died at age 40. She had the gift of prophesy. Her cultus was approved in 1769.



Apr 7- Bd Alexander Rawlins, Priest and Martyr  (A.D. 1595)

Born on the border between Worcestershire and Gloucestershire. He was educated at the English College at Rheims, in preparation for receiving Holy Orders. He and Bd Henry Walpole were executed together. Alexander had been working for the English mission ever since his ordination in March 1590. He had been arrested at about the time of Henry's return from the Tower to York castle. They were taken to the place of execution on the same hurdle. In order to keep them from talking to each other, they were laid with one's head at the feet of the other. Alexander was tortured and executed first, followed by Henry.


Apr 8- St Julia Billiart, Virgin      (A.D. 1816)

Blessed Mary Rose Julia Billiart was the child of fairly well to do peasant farmers. She was born in 1751 in Cuvilly, in Picardi, France. She was an intelligent girl who had a habit of teaching the catechism to other children. Her parish priest encouraged her to continue this practice and she was allowed to receive First Communion at age 9, which was rare in those days. She took a vow of chastity at age 14. Although she had to work very hard, when her family fell on hard times, she still took time to visit the sick, teach the ignorant and pray. Quite suddenly, after a gun was fired through a window at her father, whom she was sitting next to at the time, she became completely paralyzed, unable to use her arms or legs. She had become an invalid because of the shock of this event. She remained that way for 22 years. Throughout that time she continued to instruct children in catechism. During this time, she was also the co-foundress of an order called The Institute of Notre Dame de Namur. In 1804, during a mission held by the Fathers of Faith, in Amiens, which they entrusted to the sisters of the order, of which Mother Julia was the prioress, a novena was held for an unknown intention. On the 5th day, which was the Feast of the Sacred Heart, Father Enfantin asked Julia "Mother, if you have any faith, take one step in honor of the Sacred Heart". At this, Mother Julia stood for the first time in years, she was completely cured. During the years that followed, she continued to further the order which she had co-founded and at one point she suffered persecution and calumny from a young priest who turned many of her friends against her. She ended up relocating, with some of her sisters, to Namur, which later became the permanent location of the Mother House. Mother Julia spent the last 7 years of her  life founding more houses and training her spiritual daughters. She became sick in 1816 and was failing fast. She died on April 8, while reciting the Magnificat. She was beatified in 1906. She was canonized Jun 22, 1969, by Pope Paul XI.















                           

Belated Saints of the day - April 3rd and 4th

April 3- SS Agape, Chionia and Irene, Virgins and Martyrs (A.D. 304)
        
          In 303 Emperor Diocletian issued a decree making it illegal to have any portion of the Sacred Scriptures in a person's possession. At that time,  there were 3 Christian sisters living in Thessalonica in Macedonia named Agape, Chionia and Irene. Their parents were pagan, but they had become Christians and the owned several volumes of Sacred Scripture. They kept them so well hidden that they were not found until the following year, in 304. At that time, their home was searched after the sisters had been arrested on another charge.  They had been arrested, along with 3 others, for refusing to eat meat that had been sacrificed to the gods. Agape and Chionia  were later burned at the stake, for refusing to renounce their faith in Christ and for refusing to eat the sacrificial  meat.  Irene was imprisoned for a while and later brought again before the governor. No matter how much he tried to convince her to renounce her faith, she still refused to the very end, even after she realized that the Sacred Scriptures had been discovered in the home where she and her sisters had lived.  She was more cruelly treated. She was stripped and exposed in a brothel, which was being watched closely by guards. legend tells that she was miraculously concealed from view and protected from the advances of the men who came to the house. She also was martyred, legends say, either by being burned alive, after
being forced to herself into the flames, or, as some legends say, by being shot in the throat with an Arrow.

April 4- St Benedict the Black or Benedict the Moor,  Monk       (A.D. 1589)

            

      He was born in a village near Messina, Sicily, to poor Christian parents, who were African slaves,  and who were owned by a rich landowner. His father's name was Christopher. Christopher had been made foreman over the landowner's other slaves, and had been promised that his oldest son, Benedict, would be free. As a child, Benedict was sweet natured and religious. At the age of 10, he was nicknamed "the Holy Black", a moniker which stuck with him for life. One day, at the age of 21, while he was being ridiculed by a neighbor, and gently replying to the man's insults, because of his skin color and parentage, a young man named Lanzi, who was very impressed by Benedict's demeanor during these attacks, passed by and rebuked the man and prophesied that Benedict would soon be known for great things. Soon after this, Benedict sold his few worldly posessions and became a hermit. He, Lanzi, and their companions settled on Montepellegrino, near Palermo. soon after this, Lanzi, who had invited Benedict to join the hermits, died. Benedict was chosen superior in his place, even though he tried to refuse the position. At about the age of 38, Pope Pius IV decreed  that the hermits had to either disband or join an order. Benedict joined the Friars Minor of the Observance, and became a Lay-brother. At first, he worked as a cook. From this post, he became known for his little acts of kindness and his extraordinary goodness. When in the chapel, his face would often shine with an unearthly light, and food seemed to multiply miraculously in his hands. The order held a chapter in Palermo, where it was decided that the house of St Mary should become a convent of the reform. Therefore, Benedict was chosen as Guardian by the chapter. He couldn't read or write and this appointment bothered him. Still he obeyed and soon proved himself worthy of the assignment. Rumors of his sanctity and miracles soon spread all over Sicily. When he went to the chapter of his order, at Girgenti. Here, the clergy and people from all over came to meet him and to try to kiss his hand or obtain a piece of his habit as a relic.  Here, he was relived of the office of guardian and made vicar of the convent and novice-master. He also proved himself in this post. He was infused with an incomparable sacred knowledge of the Scriptures and sacred truths. he is known to have been endowed with the ability to read people's thoughts, and with great sympathy. He was happy when he was finally released from this post and could return to being a cook. However, he was no longer as obscure as he once was and he was continually visited by the poor and dignitaries alike, all seeking his help in some form. Although he never refused visitors, he shrank from praise and honors. Whenever he travelled, he covered his face in order to avoid recognition. He lived an austere life and ate only enough to sustain life. Benedict died in 1589, at age 63, after suffering a short illness.